Carli Dodge RAM 1994-2002 Performance 2.0 Suspension System
CUSTOM TUNED // Unlike your average lift, Carli Suspension uses only custom tuned shocks. Each shock package goes through months of testing, development, tuning, and valving. The Commuter system is tuned for on road comfort, and is the softest and most relaxed tuning of the Carli line up— think Cadillac instead of sports car ride dynamics.
CONTROL ARMS // Hand fabricated and welded in California with the highest quality joints for improved flex, these arms are a high strength control arm replacement that improves ride. These arms are also .5" longer than stock to center the axle after the 3" height increase with this system.
The Performance 2.0 system is designed for people seeking the best ride on and off-road on a budget; perfect for those that want to have a little dirt-road fun in their 2nd Gen Diesel or 3rd/4th Gen Hemi truck without losing the on-road ride quality or usability for which the truck was designed. You’re no longer limited to the highway while gravel roads become uninteresting as you can drive them at speed with one hand on the wheel.
Utilizing Bilstein 7100 2.0” Remote Reservoir Shocks, we’ve developed a shock tune that delivers all around comfort and ride quality designed for on-road, in town, highway, towing/hauling as well as slow to mid speed off road use. The Bilstein 7100s boast steel construction with clear powder coat for durability, are fully rebuildable and feature FK bearing rod ends for superior performance. This system was tuned and rides best with the Full Progressive Leaf Springs.
We recommend adding a track bar with this system. You can either use the Thuren 2nd Gen track bar or DT Pro Fab track bar. If you wish to maintain your factory sway bar, use the DT Pro fab track bar as the Thuren isn't compatible with inverted 94-98 cobra style sway bars.
The Details:
Your truck will sit 2.5”-3” higher in the front (year/cab configuration dependent) with 50% more suspension travel than the factory platform thanks to the taller, lighter rate coil springs. The rear is lifted 1”-2” via the customer’s choice of a Progressive Add-A-Pack or Full Progressive Leaf Pack. The Progressive Add-A-Pack replaces the factory overload with a 5-Leaf, progressive pack that changes the final rate of the spring pack keeping the rear planted while increasing traction and predictability.
The optional Full Progressive Leaf Pack replaces the entire factory leaf spring assembly increasing travel and drastically increasing comfort throughout the entire usable travel stroke at the cost of a 15% payload reduction from a standard 2500. This payload reduction can be supplemented back to factory 3500 SRW capacity with the addition of the Long Travel Airbags for the best of both worlds; ride quality and payload capacity/load control.
When pairing added down-travel with the taller ride height, the position of the factory sway bar will need to be altered as well. For this, we offer extended Sway Bar End Links equipped with ½” FK Rod-Ends and in-house machined 17-4 stainless bodies that are extended over stock to reset the sway bar engagement point. Factory pillow-bushings are re-used to assemble the sway bar to the lengthened link.
When lifting the front end of a straight axle truck, the front axle is pulled off-center unless the proper linkages are addressed. Three inches of front lift equates to an axle shifted toward the driver’s side ¾” and back toward the cab ½”.
Although this is perfectly operable, we recommend the purchase of an adjustable track bar to shift the axle back toward the passenger side and provide a stronger link with less deflection for the lifted application, and a set of extended control arms to shift the axle forward to its new center of travel. Unfortunately, we do not offer an adjustable track bar for the 1994-2002 platform at this time.
This system fits Dodge Ram 2500 and Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 trucks from 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.
NOTE: the 1994-02 Ram 2500/3500 trucks are notorious for a driver’s side lean up to 1.5″ (lower on the driver’s side than the passenger’s side). Carli Coil Springs and Leaf Springs for the 1994-02 are designed side-specific to lift the Driver’s side more than the Passenger’s side to lessen/eliminate this common lean. However, we’ve had trucks require the taller spring be installed on the passenger’s side to achieve a level stance and trucks that require the same height springs be installed on both sides to achieve a leveled stance.
These trucks are not an exact science and were designed long before CAD programs and design standardization. For this reason, we cannot guarantee the truck will sit level side to side nor is the corrective action a “warranty”. Our choice was either discontinue the product line OR present the customer with the design oddities so they know what they’re getting into. As there are not many performance options for the 2nd gen trucks, we elected to keep the product line as the side to side correction can be alleviated with the use of small spring spacers with NO performance degradation.
Wheel and Tire:
This system will fit up to a 35” tire with Extended Control Arms – We recommend wheels with 5.75-6” of backspacing. The more rubber, the better the small bump compliance will be at proper inflation pressures. The ride will firm up as you go larger in wheel diameter.
Base Kit Includes:
| CS-DMRC-03-H | Multi-Rate Coils |
| CS-DP20SPKG-94 |
Carli Tuned Bilstein 7100 Remote Reservoir Shocks, Clevises, Limit Straps, Reservoir Mounts |
| Front Lift | Rear Lift | Front Travel | Rear Travel | Shock Diameter | Tire Fitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0″ | 1″ – 2″ | 10″ | 12″ | 2.0″ | 35″ x 12.5″ |